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The latest news of the Max Planck Society.enWed, 19 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0100Wed, 19 Dec 2018 09:04:33 +0100Stone tools linked to ancient human ancestors found in Arabia with a surprisingly recent datehttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1132553/dawadmi-arabia
Stone handaxes, similar to those made by early humans as much as 1.5 million years ago, have been dated for the first time in the Arabian Peninsula, to less than 190,000 years old, where their production may have endured until the arrival of Homo sapiens.Thu, 29 Nov 2018 15:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1132553/dawadmi-arabia?15435000002018-11-29T15:00:00+01:00First ancient DNA ever analyzed from mainland Finland reveals origin of Siberian ancestry in Saami and Finnish populationshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1128778/finland-adna
New study shows that the genetic makeup of northern Europe traces back to migrations from Siberia that began at least 3,500 years ago and that, as recently as the Iron Age, ancestors of the Saami lived in a larger area of Finland than today.Tue, 27 Nov 2018 11:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1128778/finland-adna?15433128002018-11-27T11:00:00+01:00Dogs know when they don’t knowhttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1115966/dog-metacognition
When they don’t have enough information to make an accurate decision, dogs will search for more – similarly to chimpanzees and humans.Mon, 12 Nov 2018 12:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1115966/dog-metacognition?15420204002018-11-12T12:00:00+01:00History of early settlement and survival in the Andean highlands revealed by ancient genomeshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1111347/adna-andean-highlands
Analysis of seven ancient whole genomes reveals adaptations to the high-altitude environment and agrarian lifestyle of the Andes.Thu, 08 Nov 2018 15:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1111347/adna-andean-highlands?15416856002018-11-08T15:00:00+01:00Ancient DNA evidence for two previously unknown genetic exchanges between North and South Americahttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1110001/adna-central-and-south-america
An international team of researchers has revealed unexpected details about the peopling of Central and South America in an ancient DNA study.Thu, 08 Nov 2018 10:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1110001/adna-central-and-south-america?15416676002018-11-08T10:00:00+01:00On the trail of human historyhttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1109424/imprs-opening
New doctoral program started by Friedrich Schiller University and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryWed, 07 Nov 2018 15:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1109424/imprs-opening?15415992002018-11-07T15:00:00+01:00Oldest evidence of dairying on the East Asian Steppehttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1104144/steppe-dairying
Dairying of cattle, sheep, and goats was established in northern Mongolia by 1300 BC – despite limited genetic interactions with Western Steppe herders.Mon, 05 Nov 2018 21:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1104144/steppe-dairying?15414480002018-11-05T21:00:00+01:00Major corridor of Silk Road already home to high-mountain herders over 4000 years agohttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1102820/major-corridor-of-silk-road
Long before the formal creation of the Silk Road, pastoral herders living in the mountains of Central Asia helped form new cultural and biological links across the region.Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1102820/major-corridor-of-silk-road?15409944002018-10-31T15:00:00+01:00Earliest hominin migrations into the Arabian Peninsula required no novel adaptationshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1101697/hominin-migrations-into-green-arabia
New study provides earliest evidence for hominins in ‘Green Arabia’ between 500,000 and 300,000 years ago alongside direct environmental data indicating productive, relatively humid grasslandsMon, 29 Oct 2018 12:00:00 +0100https://www.shh.mpg.de/1101697/hominin-migrations-into-green-arabia?15408108002018-10-29T12:00:00+01:00Guidelines for a standardized data format for use in cross-linguistic studieshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1090772/cross-linguistic-data
The Cross-Linguistic Data Formats Initiative proposes new standards for linguistic data formats to facilitate sharing and data comparisons.Tue, 16 Oct 2018 11:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1090772/cross-linguistic-data?15396804002018-10-16T11:00:00+02:00Cuisine of early farmers revealed by the analysis of proteins preserved in prehistoric pottery from Çatalhöyükhttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1081398/catalhoyuk-proteins-cuisine
Analysis of proteins preserved in bowls and jars from this prehistoric site in central Anatolia shows the foodstuffs inside its inhabitants’ pottery vessels in unprecedented spectrum and resolution.Wed, 03 Oct 2018 11:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1081398/catalhoyuk-proteins-cuisine?15385572002018-10-03T11:00:00+02:00Wild African monkeys are infected with the same bacterium that causes yaws in humanshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1065367/primates-treponema
Previously it was thought that this bacterium mainly infected humans – this new research reveals the possibility of a disease reservoir in wild primates and offers insights into the evolution of the bacterium.Wed, 19 Sep 2018 10:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1065367/primates-treponema?15373440002018-09-19T10:00:00+02:00Cross-Disciplinary Analysis of Ancient Cemeteries Sheds Light on Social Organization and Migration of 6th-Century Barbarianshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1056199/longobard-cemeteries
Researchers find that individuals with more northern and central European genetic ancestry were buried with more elaborate grave goods than those with more southern, local ancestry.Tue, 11 Sep 2018 17:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1056199/longobard-cemeteries?15366780002018-09-11T17:00:00+02:00DNA of early medieval Alemannic warriors and their entourage decodedhttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1046419/alemannic-graveyards
Researchers from Eurac Research and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History have analysed human remains dated between 590 and 630 CEWed, 05 Sep 2018 20:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1046419/alemannic-graveyards?15361704002018-09-05T20:00:00+02:00One million artists can’t be wrong about cultural evolutionhttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1046248/collaborative-art
Collaborative art project on the popular web platform Reddit reveals the structure of cultural change.Wed, 05 Sep 2018 11:33:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1046248/collaborative-art?15361399802018-09-05T11:33:00+02:00Ancient livestock dung heaps are now African wildlife hotspotshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1038862/ancient-livestock-dung-heaps
Nomadic herders enriched savannah landscapes over three millennia, study finds.Wed, 29 Aug 2018 19:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1038862/ancient-livestock-dung-heaps?15355620002018-08-29T19:00:00+02:00Disentangling the relationships between cultural traits and other variableshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1037264/comparing-cultures
Researchers provide guidelines for differentiating between causation and mere correlation in cross-cultural studies.Wed, 29 Aug 2018 01:15:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1037264/comparing-cultures?15354981002018-08-29T01:15:00+02:00Massive Monumental Cemetery Built by Eastern Africa’s Earliest Herders Discovered Near Lake Turkana, Kenyahttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1030272/lake-turkana
The 5,000-year-old cemetery is the earliest and largest monumental cemetery in eastern Africa and was built by an egalitarian society of mobile pastoralists.Mon, 20 Aug 2018 21:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1030272/lake-turkana?15347916002018-08-20T21:00:00+02:00Origins and spread of Eurasian fruits traced to the ancient Silk Roadhttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1026595/origins-of-eurasian-fruits-traced-to-silk-road
New research reveals that many of the most familiar fruits in our kitchens today were cultivated in Central Asia over a millennium ago. These arboreal crops appear to have been an important part of the diet, and likely the commerce, along the Eurasian trade routes.Tue, 14 Aug 2018 11:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1026595/origins-of-eurasian-fruits-traced-to-silk-road?15342372002018-08-14T11:00:00+02:00Homo sapiens developed a new ecological niche that separated it from other homininshttps://www.shh.mpg.de/1021619/general-specialist-homo-sapiens
New study argues that the greatest defining feature of our species is not ‘symbolism’ or dramatic cognitive change but rather its unique ecological position as a global ‘general specialist’.Mon, 30 Jul 2018 17:00:00 +0200https://www.shh.mpg.de/1021619/general-specialist-homo-sapiens?15329628002018-07-30T17:00:00+02:002018-12-19T00:00:00+01:00